Modern commerce requires the shipment of a wide variety of goods from raw material sources to manufacturing sites and thereafter to various points of distribution. As goods reach a more finished state, manufacturers usually take increasing care to package such products so as to reduce the risk of damage during storage and shipment. Accordingly, a wide variety of packaging systems have been developed.
Many of such packaging systems employ a box-like carton, usually formed of a corrugated material such as a paperboard. Such cartons are highly desirable due to their relatively low cost and ease of manufacture. Items placed in such boxes or cartons may be cushioned against damaging impacts by a variety of shock absorbing materials, such as foam, bubble pack, styrofoam pellets, etc., as are known in the prior art.
In recent times, a need has arisen for packaging systems that are particularly suitable for protecting electronic equipment during shipment and storage. Due to the delicacy of such equipment, increasingly better ways are needed to package and ship such items. The rapid growth of the computer industry has placed substantial demands for packaging innovation.
At the same time, though, competitiveness among manufacturers of computer equipment necessitates cost savings at virtually every level of production, including packaging. Even though computer equipment constitutes a relatively high purchase decision from many households, manufacturers are under extra ordinary pressures to implement savings in the distribution of these products to the consumer.
As a result, manufacturers need packaging systems that are a less expensive without significantly increasing risk of damage to the delicate equipment. Moreover, such manufacturers need packaging systems that can introduce cost savings during the packaging process because workers can more efficiently use such systems and thus reduce the time and money needed in the packaging operation. The present invention is directed to these needs.